Each and every day there are many, many people who deserve to be honored and remembered by each of us doing an act of kindness for them. That saying, “Kill them with kindness,” is ringing in my ears today and perhaps that was what was behind Ann Curry’s campaign for 26 Acts of Kindness. If we truly want to turn our world around, each of us needs to be intentional about getting out of our self-absorbed “cocoons” and doing something kind for someone else. Do some resort to “acts of meanness” because the world has not taken enough notice of their suffering? Of course. That is the cost of us being self-absorbed about our own pain. But, each and every day people rise above that very real pain, choose to be victorious survivors and turn their real horror stories into stories of triumph. If we can use them as our role models and meet evil with good as often as we can, perhaps a better world will result. And even if it doesn’t, perhaps we caused a few people to stop and think and maybe change a behavior or two here and there.

The movie, Pay It Forward, depicts how 3 acts of kindness by 1 young boy resulted in a massive movement across the U.S. All he requested from the recipients of his acts was for them to do the same. He didn’t even request 26 acts as I have asked of you and me. So, my dear readers, I hope you will make acts of kindness your new habit and simply look for opportunities to do things for others as often as you can. Who knows? We may change a country if we do, and maybe given enough time, change a world.

I am not going to spend today’s post by telling you all about my acts (yes, plural) of kindness for this week, but suffice it to say, the final MIP count now stands at 103! Not bad, gang! You deserve a pat on the back! Thanks for participating in this little campaign and keep going!

Last week’s 26 Tuesday’s honoree was Benjamin Wheeler. On Friday I was literally using “the facilities” at a local restaurant and pondering what to do in honor of Benjamin. As I completed “my business,” I realized I was using the last of that particular roll of toilet paper. Out of sheer habit I discarded the empty tube, unwrapped a roll nearby and replaced it. It was only then that I realized I had just completed an act of kindness–not only for the next “inhabitant” of the restroom, but also for the staff of the restaurant, who happened to be quite busy with their noontime crowd.

I hope, as we honor our very last victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, that all of us, myself included, begin to do acts of kindness in just that way–as a matter of habit. The reality is that it takes very little money to fix the world’s problems. Often, all it takes is lots of people being kind in small and big ways each day. Imagine what the world would be like if all of us simply made acts of kindness a habit every day!

This now brings our MIP total of acts of kindness to: 97! I hope you will let me know about your act of kindness this week so we can get to the magical total of 100 by our last Tuesday next week. To do so, please submit a comment below. Thanks!

Our last honoree is Allison N. Wyatt. Here is what CNN had to say about Allison:

Allison N. Wyatt, 6

Once, Allison offered her snacks to a complete stranger on plane. That’s just the type of person she was. Allison was a “sweet, creative, funny, intelligent little girl who had an amazing life ahead of her,” her parents said. They described their daughter as kind-hearted. She loved to draw and wanted to be an artist. “She loved to laugh and was developing her own wonderful sense of humor that ranged from just being a silly 6-year-old to coming up with observations that more than once had us crying with laughter,” her parents said. “Allison made the world a better place for six, far too short years, and we now have to figure out how to move on without her … We love and miss her so much.”

It seems fitting that Allison was already doing her acts of kindness and that she is our last honoree! Let’s finish this MIP series with a strong finish in her honor!

Last week we honored teacher Victoria Soto, the brave woman who tried to shield her students from the gunman. This week I have to give partial credit for my act of kindness to my youngest. He cleaned out his dresser and closet in preparation for beginning college and left a bag of clothing for me to donate to our local version of “Goodwill.” All I had to do was take the bag there on his behalf when I was out running the errands–so easy!

On Sunday our minister encouraged us to do “Organized Acts of Kindness” (OAK). This is particularly interesting because our church’s name is “Oakdale.” 🙂 I hope our church will, one day, be known for our acts of kindness! That’s what a church should be all about anyway.

So this brings our MIP “organized” acts of kindness total to 95! What OAKs did you do this week? Let us know in a comment below.

This week we honor Benjamin Wheeler. Here is what CNN said about Benjamin:

Benjamin Wheeler, 6

Ben loved The Beatles, lighthouses and the No. 7 train to Sunnyside, Queens, his family said in a statement. He and his older brother Nate “filled the house with the noise of four children.” “Ben Wheeler was an irrepressibly bright and spirited boy whose love of fun and excitement at the wonders of life and the world could rarely be contained. His rush to experience life was headlong, creative and immediate,” his family said. Ben loved soccer and swimming. Recently, he performed at a piano recital — a major feat for a little boy who rarely sat still. Friday morning before school, he told him mom: “I still want to be an architect, but I also want to be a paleontologist, because that’s what Nate is going to be and I want to do everything Nate does.” The family moved to Newtown in 2007. Francine Wheeler, Ben’s mother, is a music teacher and performer. Francine Wheeler’s band posted the following message on its Facebook page: “Francine Wheeler, a founding member of The Dream Jam Band, has lost her precious 6-year old son, Ben, to the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. Our prayers and love go out to Francine, David and Ben’s big brother, Nate.”

Last week 26 Tuesdays honored Mary Sherlach, the counselor at Sandy Hook who, along with her principal, rushed into the corridor from their offices after hearing gunshots. U.S. school counselors do a nearly impossible job–their days are often filled with doing things they never really wanted to do, such as testing, scheduling, and other administrative work. Often, the counseling work they long to do has to be crammed into short segments of time (not ideal for helping people) or before or after school. It means long hours throughout the entire year–counselor usually do not get their summers off, like their teaching counterparts.

And yet, school counselors are often the very people who make life tolerable for a great number of kids. Sadly, more and more of our children are forced to live in families that are struggling for one reason or another. The reality is that life is often not very fair for our children. So, what sort of act of kindness should I do to honor Mary Sherlach?

My inspiration for this week’s act of kindness came from guess who. A school counselor. She happens to be a good friend of mine and when life didn’t seem very fair for me last week, I “vented” in her direction. She responded with her typical caring, her crazy sense of humor and…a card. She, herself, lives a life that is often not very fair to her. And yet, she still devotes herself to helping others with whatever problems they present to her. So I purchased a number of cards this week to send to others, those who have suffered some big hurts this week and could use a kind word from a friend. Such a simple thing to do, but a fast and dying act of kindness, due to the internet.

This puts our MIP acts of kindness count at 93! We closing in on the 100 mark! What did you do as your act of kindness this week?

Today’s honoree is the last teacher we will honor and Victoria Soto has been hailed as a hero for taking fast action to try and protect her students before she was unmercifully gunned down. Here is more about her via CNN:

Victoria Soto, 27

Soto, a first-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary, moved her students away from the classroom door when she heard gunfire. “That’s when the gunman burst in, did not say a word, no facial expressions, and proceeded to shoot their teacher,” said Robert Licata, whose 6-year-old son, Aiden, escaped by running past the shooter. Soto’s mother said her daughter was selfless. “She would not hesitate to think to save anyone else before herself, and especially children. She loved them more than life, and she would definitely put herself in front of them any day,” Donna Soto told CNN’s Piers Morgan. Soto had wanted to be a teacher since she was 3 and talked about her students with “such fondness and caring,” her mother said. Soto’s cousin, James Wiltsie, said Soto “instinctively went into action, when a monster came into her classroom, and tried to protect the kids that she loved so much,” he said. “We just want the public to know that Vicki was a hero.”

My mother came to a point in her life where she had to make the decision to either get blood transfusions almost every month in order to live an additional 2 years or to just “call it quits” and allow nature and God to take her to her final resting place. In true Mom style, she chose the latter, having already lived a wonderful 80 years. We (our entire family) were all there when she signed the papers indicating her decision and it was, as you can imagine, a rather sobering moment. Thus, my husband decided to try and lighten the “environment” a little by asking her the following question,”Nana? If you were to do it all over again, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?” My mother was known for her pithy, inspirational thoughts in moments such as these and we expected such a response from this question. Instead, she surprised us all with this response: “Eat more ice cream.” We all laughed and when we thought about her past, we realized she was being true to herself–she had always loved ice cream and her constant weight issues had made it difficult for her to indulge that passion as often as she had wanted.

Today “Eat more ice cream” always brings a smile to our faces in our family and we now use the phrase to justify seemingly overly-indulgent, overly selfish purchases. It’s as if she’s giving us permission to enjoy life all over again. Last Thursday my youngest and I, along with quite a few members of our small community, chose to indulge her little mantra, too. Dairy Queen elected to donate $ 1 to the Children’s Miracle Network for every blizzard purchased on that day. I dispatched my youngest to go pick up 2 blizzards for our “lunch” that day and he elected to purchase 1 for his buddy, too. It’s difficult to find a child in America who doesn’t like or love ice cream and I like to think that Lauren Rousseau (last week’s 26 Tuesdays honoree) would love that one of the most favorite things for a child was used for some good in this world. And I also like to think that Mom was smiling down on us while we greedily gulped every bite of those blizzards.

If I include the folks who made it known that they also indulged their ice cream tooth last Friday, our MIPacts of kindness count just climbed to a whopping 86! If you also did an act of kindness, particularly if you also bought a blizzard on Thursday, please let me know via the comment box below or by contacting me via email on the Contact page. Who knew eating ice cream could do so much good in one tiny town?!

Mary Sherlach, 56

Sherlach, Sandy Hook Elementary’s school psychologist, was with Hochsprung when they heard a “pop, pop, pop” sound around 9:30 a.m., a parent with both women at the time told CNN. Sherlach was shot to death after heading into the hall to find out what was happening. “I … am always ready to assist in problem-solving, intervention and prevention,” Sherlach wrote on her website. Sherlach earned her undergraduate degree in psychology at SUNY Cortland and a master’s degree at Southern Connecticut State University. She worked as a rehabilitation assistant at a group home for disabled adults and as a community mental health placement specialist before becoming a school psychologist. She worked in three Connecticut school systems before moving to Sandy Hook Elementary in 1994. Sherlach and her husband for more than three decades lived in Trumbull, Connecticut, and, together, they were “proud parents” of two daughters in their late 20s. Her website listed her interests as gardening, reading and going to the theater.

Last week we honored Avielle Richman, who had a loose tooth and loved horses. Since we had had a horse lover the week before, I didn’t want to repeat what I had done for Jessica Rekos, but I found it a little difficult to find an act of kindness that had to do with loose teeth! Somehow I think I might get arrested if I were to volunteer to help a kid yank out their loose tooth!

Fortunately, two media concerns helped me discover other ways to help others from my very own home. When I was in the hospital, I was given a magazine to read (because I was getting totally bored!) and it’s one I grew up with: Woman’s Day. My mother religiously read that magazine every month and I occasionally indulge in the same avocation. Believe it or not, this issue spoke about helpfromhome.org. Help from Home has a pile of ways people can help others without ever getting out of their P.J.’s. So, this week I clicked on some links that edged “click tallies” closer to a target goal. Once met, corporations will donate money to worthy causes, such as providing more trees in areas where they are sparse and feeding impoverished children in Peru.

I also grew up with 60 Minutes in my living room every Sunday evening and this week they discussed mercyships.org this past Sunday evening. Mercyships.org sends ships to African countries where people still believe that tumors are spiritual curses. They believe this so vehemently that people with tumors can be cast out of their homes and communities. People in these countries are also often blinded by cataracts. Thus, the nurses and doctors on a mercy ship provide much needed surgeries to remove tumors and cataracts and deliver basic medical care to those who need it most. They are a Christian concern, regularly praying before and after surgeries for their patients, but will help anyone in need (regardless of religious belief) for free. In fact the doctors and nurses there actually pay for the privilege of working on these ships–they raise their own support. The ships have their own fire departments, schools and other needed services. Because of this, romances often bloom and marriages and families ensue! Some children are raised entirely on the ship to the point that they don’t even recognize mailboxes when they are on vacation in the U.S.! Many plan to live and work on these ships for the rest of their lives.

If you haven’t yet done your act of kindness this week, may I suggest you go to these web sites and see what you can do to help these organizations? And then, please take a moment to let me know how you helped! So, this brings our MIP act of kindness to 68!

This week we honor Lauren Rousseau, a permanent substitute teacher at Sandy Hook. Here’s what CNN said about her:

Lauren Rousseau, 30

Rousseau, a permanent substitute teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary, “wanted to be a teacher from before she even went to kindergarten,” her mother said in a written statement Saturday. “We will miss her terribly and will take comfort knowing that she had achieved that dream,” Teresa Rousseau said. She grew up in Danbury, Connecticut, and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut and a master’s degree in elementary education from the University of Bridgeport. Rousseau “worked as a substitute teacher in Danbury, New Milford and Newtown before she was hired in November as a permanent substitute teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown,” her mother’s statement said.

They often run the program on a shoe-string budget, relying heavily on the public for donations of horses, feed, and equipment. Volunteer students often act as the “guides” for the horses and riders. Thus, this week I decided my favorite equine therapy program deserved a small infusion of cash from our household. Hope it helps provide therapy for someone like my son very soon.

This puts our 26 Tuesdays Acts of Kindness Count at 66! This week we honor Avielle Richman. I have to confess that I’ve never heard of the name Avielle and it may have to find its way into a novel of mine some day, since I like how it just rolls off the tongue! It sounds French and since I adore all things “Francais,” it just appeals to me. Here’s what CNN said about the young lady with the pretty name:

Avielle Richman, 6

Avielle was happiest when she was on a horse. Her trainer, Annette Sullivan, told the Connecticut Post that Avielle would “giggle when she trotted.” Like kids her age, her first wobbly tooth was a sign she was growing up. “She showed me her wiggly tooth, she was so excited,” Sullivan told the newspaper. “She was the most delightful little girl you ever met in your life.”

Hmmm….sounds like I might need to increase the aforementioned donation, hunh? What did you do to honor Jessica?

Happy belated birthday to Olivia Engel, who would have been 7 yesterday, had she not been a victim of the Sandy Hook shooting. As we welcome a royal baby, let us remember that some families this year will not be able to celebrate with the bundles of joy they brought home from the hospital 7 years ago. My dad passed away 5 years ago and his birthday was on Saturday and while my dad lived a long and happy life, I can tell you that his birthday each year still brings me to a few tears. I’m sure it’s even worse when losing a child. So, let’s all pray for Olivia’s family this week!

It’s a little tricky these days to do acts of kindness in memory of each of the Sandy Hook victims due to the restrictions of my recuperation from 2 heart attacks. Why? I’m not supposed to be outside in weather over 95 degrees and most Texans are asleep in July when it’s under 95 degrees, even my night owl self included.

Also, prior to the heart attacks I at least had 1 allergy shot each week to ward off my anaphylaxis tendencies. Sometimes I get 2. I’m now not allowed to get allergy shots for the time being, meaning that if I go outside, I risk anaphylaxis just by breathing the air, literally. While I take 1 allergy med every single day, often 2 or 3 meds are needed if I can’t keep the allergens from bothering me. I’ve been warned that if I go into anaphylaxis, that would be detrimental to my heart, because they would use the complete opposite meds they use for my heart. Joy. So, I am presently spending a lot of time indoors (with lots of air purifiers and allergy filters all around me) getting a really bad case of cabin fever. So, what’s a an act of kindness giver supposed to do with that?

Fortunately, I have “elves.” One elf works at two car washes, cleaning the bays, emptying trash, and making sure things there are working properly. The car washes are self-serve, so it requires the use of a lot of quarters in order to clean one’s car or truck. Yes, these would be the same car washes where I recounted counting so many of those quarters. (Yes, I deliberately used, “recounted counting.”)

Thus, to honor last week’s honoree, Caroline Previdi, I decided to gather up all of the quarters laying around the house and in my wallet and ask my elf to give them to some unsuspecting stranger and just say that a stranger wanted to help them out. The elf rightly questioned doing this, suggesting that he or she could get in trouble with the boss for giving someone “free quarters” as an employee there. So, I suggested that he or she text said boss and just let them know an “act of kindness was in progress” in advance. The quarters were given out and 1 car wash customer left very happy as I write this. 🙂

This brings our MIP acts of kindness total to 63! This week we honor Jessica Rekos. Here is what CNN had to say about her:

Jessica Rekos, 6

Jessica loved everything about horses — horse movies, horse books, drawing horses and writing stories about them. She asked Santa this year for new cowgirl boots and a cowgirl hat. Her family had promised she could get her own horse when she turned 10. “She was a creative, beautiful, little girl,” her family said in a statement, describing Jessica as their “rock.” “She had an answer for everything, she didn’t miss a trick, and she outsmarted us every time. We called her our little CEO for the way she carefully thought out and planned everything,” they said. “We can not imagine our life without her.” Jessica also loved orca whales and playing with her two little brothers. “We are mourning her loss, sharing our beautiful memories we have of her, and trying to help her brother Travis understand why he can’t play with his best friend,” her family said.

What did you do for Caroline? Please leave a comment in the box below at least letting me know you participated in an act of kindness. If you want to add details of what it was like to do your act of kindness, GREAT! That will probably inspire others to do likewise, but I also respect your right to keep these things to yourself. 🙂

For the last 2 days, I have relayed the results of the survey I asked my readers to answer. So, what does that mean for MIP going forward? First, let me say that changes right now will all be on a trial basis and as people give me feedback more informally, I will continue to tweak what I’m posting. Keep in mind that the changes are so that I can spend more energy on other projects, such as writing the novel and Lessons Learned book.

But, for now, I will keep doing the Word of the Week posts on Mondays. Do I hear a bunch of you thesaurus junkies rejoicing out there?

I will probably reduce the number of Slow Reader posts, simply because I am a slow reader and need more time to actually digest some books. A significant number of you do like these posts, so I don’t think I want to abandon them entirely. Besides, a writer should read and this makes me accountable! So, expect to see 1 or 2 Slow Reader posts a month.

I will probably continue the 26 Tuesdays post until we are finished with all 26 Sandy Hook victims only because I think that my self-improvement journey should include acts of kindness and again, this keeps me accountable. And because I believe these victims, along with all other victims of senseless crime, should be honored and remembered with “goodness” instead of evil! (May I suggest this for the Trayvon Martin case?) However, don’t expect these posts to be replaced by some other series.

Each week you can expect either a Lessons Learned feature or a serious post or a humorous post. In truth, the Lessons Learned series are often both serious and humorous. Don’t expect a Lessons Learned post every single week. Likewise, don’t expect a serious post every week or a humorous post every week, particularly in the beginning. You will get at least one of the above each week, though. It will be a surprise!

And, I will probably send out links for the new posts around 11 am, which is a much more sane hour for me right now. I will make this more and more “like clockwork” as time goes on, but expect some variation short term because of my current health adventures. I am finding that recuperation from this latest adventure is taking more time than I thought it would.

Many, many thanks to my readers! You are blowing my mind…in a good way and I treasure each and every comment and email you have sent my way to encourage me while I continue to recuperate. You bless me in ways you don’t even fathom!

Last week’s 26 Tuesdays honoree was Noah Pozner. Noah had a great heart, according to those who knew him. This is about all we know of Noah and so, I wondered how I was going to do something that would involve just caring and having a great heart. Thankfully, my answer was given to me quite easily and randomly.

As I was returning home one day, I noticed a lawn care and landscaping truck and trailer turning and going up the street where I live. As they turned, they lost a gas can off the back of the low trailer. They started to increase speed to go up the hill and I realized they had no idea they had lost one of their gas cans. How was I going to flag them down, since I was quite far behind them? I honked my car horn several times in rapid succession and they finally stopped further up the hill, quite obviously surprised by my honking.

I stopped my car near the gas can and hopped out to get it. It was pretty full of gas, so I was glad that I had honked my horn–they most likely were going to need the gas in the can for the rest of their work that day. Two men slowly got out of the truck and then realized why I had honked as I made my way up the hill with their gas can. They walked faster, going to meet me in the road. I apologized for honking so much and handed them the can. The man taking the can thanked me.

I like to think that Noah looked down from Heaven and knew I needed some help with my act of kindness this week and just gave that gas can a little nudge off the back of that trailer. I’m probably wrong about that, but it’s how I like to think about it. And when the men got their gas can back, he smiled up there somewhere. Particularly, since the gentlemen in the truck didn’t appear to be able to speak a lot of English. Acts of kindness seldom need mutual language comprehension. They just need to be done.

That means that our MIP Acts of Kindness stand at 60 today. How did you honor Noah this week? Please submit a comment below letting me know that you participated!

This week we honor Caroline Previdi. Like Noah, not much is reported about Caroline’s likes and dislikes, but here’s what CNN said about her:

Caroline Previdi, 6

“You were a sweet little girl and you will be missed.” That’s the message that Caroline’s aunt reportedly tweeted, saying goodbye to her niece, according to the online version of the Press-Telegram in Long Beach, California. “It hurts even more to see a familiar name on that list,” the report said Paige Tremblay also tweeted. A Facebook page called “RIP Caroline Previdi — Sandy Hook Massacre Victim” contains dozens of messages. One reads: “Rest in Peace, sweetheart. I know for sure that God is with you and all the other sweet little angels. I feel so very sorry for all these families who lost their precious kids, my heart goes out to all of you.”‘